Speaking as a white kid in the Philly area in the 80s, nobody saw Dr J as black, per se…We saw him as awesome.
And yeah…3-pointers suck compared to the legendary Rock the Baby dunk.
Posted on 11/15/2024 7:45:34 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Shaquille O'Neal says he's bored with basketball. The former Los Angeles Lakers center reacted to a recent report about the NBA's declining ratings by claiming that the league has become too predictable-and he quickly pointed to Stephen Curry, the master of three-pointers, as the reason.
According to a report by Sports Media Watch, ratings for the first two days of the 2024-2025 NBA season dropped by as much as 47% compared to last year, depending on the game.
O'Neal didn't hold back on finding a reason for the ratings decline. On the latest episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," the three-time NBA champion claimed that the game has become too predictable and "boring," which he believes is why fans have stopped tuning in.
"I have a theory," Shaq told co-host Adam Lefkoe. "It's down because we're looking at the same thing. Everybody's running the same plays. At the top of the key, dribble handoff," he asserted.
Blaming Stephen Curry The Big Aristotle played in an era dominated by giants like Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Ben Wallace, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson, who ruled the NBA in the '90s and early 2000s. So it's no surprise that O'Neal isn't impressed with a game increasingly led by sharpshooters.
"Steph Curry and those guys messed it up," he said. "I didn't mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but not every team is a three-point shooter, so why does everybody have the same strategy?"
(Excerpt) Read more at marca.com ...
Not surprising Shaq prefers his era.
Speaking as a white kid in the Philly area in the 80s, nobody saw Dr J as black, per se…We saw him as awesome.
And yeah…3-pointers suck compared to the legendary Rock the Baby dunk.
Exactly. Time to get rid of 3 pt line.
Loved Dr J.
Saw him at a slot machine at the Tropicana in Atlantic City once and the 20 dollar tokens looked like quarters in his hand.
‘ Time to get rid of 3 pt line.’
Don’t see that happening anytime soon.
I am with Shaq 100%.
Much like the ruining of MLB, analytics told the NBA that it was more "efficient" to shoot a lot of 3-point shots instead of 2-point shots. They are already going down the same path of boredom that had overtaken much of MLB.
I’m ambivalent.
I did not like the thuggery of the 80s and 90s, like Laimbeer, et al. I prefer skill.
I had no idea what were the politics of any Sixer. I didn’t care. All I cared about was beating the Celtics or Lakers.
Nowadays, many players’ identities are wrapped up in politics.
I don’t go to a Trump rally to watch him play Eruption or shoot hoops. I feel the same way about athletes, and musicians…shut up and play.
Three, four steps, and a dunk? Maybe if the refs actually called traveling, the games would be more exciting!
Well, that’s a non sequitur.
Easy to do that. All you need is a coach to train a player to practice his 3 pt shooting. And you have the next Curry on your team.
Regarding baseball. There are only "three true outcomes.
Ah, no.
Thanks to the Left, everyone is forced to pick sides now.
It’s an expansion.
Re: the casino story…very cool. If they looked like quarters in Dr J’s hands, they’d look like nickels in the hands of Moses Malone or Darryl Dawkins. What an era.
Yes. Which is what the Boston Celtics are doing under Coach Joe Mazzulla.
The don’t play Defense anymore. Scores used to be in the 80’s or 90’s. It’s a boring product.
I miss the Spectrum. The new place isn’t the same.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.